OK, Let's Talk $$$ Wedding Bucks

I want to quit my "day job", so how much should you charge for a wedding? My really simple answer would be to determine how much income you want to make on a yearly basis, deduct your real costs, and divide that amount by the number of weddings you want to photograph in a year. This is usually a pretty good "reality check" for a lot of photographers working out there.

I know this line of discussion could go on for days, but the monetary reality for a full time wedding photographer professional is: You've got to to be doing a bunch of weddings with a lot of shooters or be charging much bigger bucks for a smaller number of weddings photographed. Anyway, without getting into a lengthy business dissertation here, let me point you to a site that at least will give you an idea what other photographers are charging around the country (and world.) Head on over to the Wedding Photojournalist Association right here. Click on your state on the right hand side of the page and see where you stand compared to others in your neighborhood. The link starts you out with the NYC photogs, so take it from there, --very fascinating numbers, indeed.